Beating net

Beating insects from a tree branch

Using an umbrella as a beating net

A beating net is a device used to collect insects and arachnids. It mainly collects caterpillars, spiders, beetles, aphids and flies. The beating net consists of a white cloth stretched out on a circular or rectangular frame which may be dismantled for transport. It is held under a tree or shrub and then the foliage is shaken or beaten with a stick. Insects fall from the plant and land on the cloth. They can then be examined or collected using a pooter.

Bookplate of George Carter Bignell with his beating tray, displayed in the bottom right hand corner

The beating net is also known as the beating tray or beating sheet. ^{[1] [2]} It is commercially known as a Japanese umbrella, mainly in Europe. ^[3] It can also be confused for a beat sheet, an agricultural device of a similar name. A beat sheet is a white or yellow cloth draped over crop rows to capture insects. ^[4]

The insect beating net was devised by George Carter Bignell. ^[5] Use of the beating net replaced the use of the entomological umbrella and the clap-net. ^{[6] [7]}

References

1. "Invertebrates inventory and monitoring: DOCCM-255606 Invertebrates search and extraction methods v1.0". www.doc.govt.nz. Retrieved 2025-10-18.
2. Inventory Methods for Terrestrial Arthropods: Standards for Components of British Columbia's Biodiversity (PDF). Vol. 40. Resources Inventory Committee. 1998. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 January 2016.
3. Aissat, Lyes (2023-07-04). "Environmental variables associated with insect richness and nestedness on small islands off the coast of northeastern Algeria". European Journal of Entomology. 120 (1): 244–253. doi:10.14411/eje.2023.027.
4. Deutscher, Sandra; Dillon, Martin; McKinnon, Carla; Mansfield, Sarah; Staines, Trudy; Lawrence, Louise (2003). "Giving insects a good beating". The Australian Cottongrower. 24 (3): 24–27.
5. Freedman, Jan; Hodge, David; Kearsey, Andrew (2010). "The Life and Entomological Collections of George Carter Bignell". Bulletin of the Royal Entomological Society. Vol. 34, no. 1. p. 7.
6. Douglas, John William; Scott, John (1865). The British Hemiptera. vol. I, Hemiptera-Heteroptera. London: Robert Hardwicke. p. 6. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.7908.
7. Wilkinson, Ronald S. (1978). "The history of the entomological clap-net in Great Britain". The Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation. 90: 127––132.